Coverage for Accidental Hospitalisation – What You Should Know
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Accidents can happen at any time, and in such cases, we always turn to hospitals for help. However, hospitals can turn out to be quite expensive when it comes to taking care of trauma from accidents. Even if you do have health insurance in place, you may still face surprising costs.
This is exactly why understanding how coverage for accidental hospitalisation works can save you from financial strain. Here’s a look at everything you should know regarding these aspects, explained in simple terms.
Your Health Insurance Coverage Might Not Be Enough
Most primary health insurance plans cover medical treatments like hospital rooms, surgery, and doctor visits. However, despite this, the policyholder often ends up paying for deductibles, copays, or coinsurance first. In some cases, your policy might only cover a portion of the costs incurred, or it may put up limits on annual benefits.
Some policies, for example, only pay a percentage, say around 80%, after you meet your deductible. This means that you end up paying the rest, leaving a very obvious gap in your coverage.
What Is Accident Insurance?
Think of accident insurance as a type of supplemental policy that is specifically designed for mishaps like falls, fractures, or burns. If you hold accidental insurance, you will get paid a fixed amount directly and in a lump sum, which you can use however you want, be it for medical bills, groceries, rent, or childcare.
To avail the insurance, you need to submit a claim after an accident. Once the claim is approved, you receive cash, not a payment to the hospital, which you can use according to your needs.
How It Supports Accidental Hospitalisation?
Even if you do hold a good health insurance policy, it might not cover everything when you end up in the hospital due to an accident. This is exactly where accident insurance steps in. With the help of accidental insurance, you can cover:
- Deductibles, copays, and coinsurance
- Emergency services like ambulance rides or X-rays
- Daily hospital expenses
- Recovery-related costs like home care, transportation, etc.
A few plans can also help you with a fixed daily benefit for each day of hospitalisation, or extra benefits if you're in intensive care.
Why You Should Consider Accidental Hospitalisation?
There are several reasons that can make the concept of opting for coverage for accidental hospitalisation beneficial. It:
- Covers gaps left by Health Insurance, as the right accidental cover will help you handle costs that your basic health insurance main policy may not pay.
- Fast and flexible payouts, as most accidental insurance policies provide you with payment within days without copays or deductibles.
- Affordable, as the monthly payments are usually quite low.
- Especially helpful with high-deductible plans, especially if your plan comes with high upfront costs, this can offset those.
What to Watch Out For In Accidental Hospitalisation
Before you choose accidental insurance coverage, there are certain things that you need to keep in mind.
- Check the exclusions, as some policies don’t cover accidents while intoxicated, illegal acts, or high-risk activity.
- Know the benefit limits, as certain accidental insurance policies have payments that are capped per accident or per year.
- Read the terms carefully. Terms such as wait periods, pre-existing condition rules, or eligibility limits should be clear to you.
- Don’t confuse the cover with health insurance, because these are supplemental plans, not replacements for your health insurance.
Choosing the Right Accidental Hospitalisation Plan
Before you choose a plan that seems right for you, here are a few questions that you could ask yourself.
- What are the gaps that exist in my current Health Insurance?
- Will the accident insurance help in filling those gaps?
- What is the monthly premium I can afford for the accidental coverage in addition to the health insurance?
- Are there any exclusions in the accidental insurance that might affect me?
Author Bio
Paybima Team
Paybima is an Indian insurance aggregator on a mission to make insurance simple for people. Paybima is the Digital arm of the already established and trusted Mahindra Insurance Brokers Ltd., a reputed name in the insurance broking industry with 21 years of experience. Paybima promises you the easy-to-access online platform to buy insurance policies, and also extend their unrelented assistance with all your policy related queries and services.
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